Car door



NOV. 25, 1941. C VOSS 2,264,104

CAR DOOR File/d NOV. 27',` 1959 sgg, A

INVENTOR. `E0 C. Vaas Patented Nov. 25, 1941 CAR DOOR Leo C. Voss, Chicago, Ill., assigner to The Youngstown Steel Door Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio ApplicationvNovember 27, 1939, serial No. 306,227

7 Claims.

This invention relates to car doors and more particularly to doors of the sliding lift type.

The main object of this invention is to provide sliding lift doors so constructed and associated with elements on freight cars of the house car type as to limit the normal lift of said doors in closed position while permitting opening movement of the doors when such movement is de- Ysired.

With the stated object and others which will.

become clear this invention comprises the novel structure and combination of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out and claimed.

' In the drawing forming pair of this specication;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of the double sliding lift doors of a railway house car illustrating the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1 with a part broken away to more clearly show the relationship of certain of the elements of the invention.'

Referring to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, numerals I0 and II designate the main and auxiliary doors respectively of a railway house car. Briefly, these doors comprise metallic panels I2 and I3 formed preferably with horizontal corrugations I4 and I5 and with vertical corrugations I6 and I1. The forward margin of the main door I0 is reinforced by means of a metallic stiffener I8 and the forward margin of the auxiliary door II is reinforced in part by means of a substantially Z-shaped member I9. The lower margin of each of the doors is reinforced by means of an angle member 20. The doors are of the lift type, lifting mechanism being indicated fragmentarily at 2I and 22, a portion of the operating levers of the lift mechanisms being designated by the numerals 23 and 24.

The brief description and reference to the main and auxiliary doors and the lifting mechanisms therefor is believed to be suicient inasmuch as these structures are well known in the art and since they constitute no part of the invention except in the combination hereinafter described.

In the normal lowered position of the main and auxiliary doors they are frictionally supported directly upon a door track 25, this suptaken on line .port being secured throughthe agency of the reinforcing angles 20 as more clearly shown `in Fig. 3 of the drawing. Since the doors are of the lift type it is evident that when in lowered and closed position they may under impact to the cars upon which the doors are mounted be forced upwardly a distance equal to the amount of the lift of the doors. After lifting of the doors under this condition they will drop under the action of gravity upon the track and thus deliver severe blows both to the door and to the track. In addition, this forcefull upward movementv of the doors tends to effect separation between the doors at their meeting edges, thereby placing a severe strain upon the customary door lock (not shown) which extends across the meeting edges of the doors for the purpose of fastening them together.. It is the purpose of the instant invention to avoid these deleterious results.

To this end a member 26 preferably in' the form of a casting is secured to the lower forward corner of the main door as by means of rivets 21. The member 26 is gained 'as vindicated at 28 to provide for the extension ofthe main door stiffening memberl I8 and outwardly of the stiiening member is provided with a substantially wedge shaped projection 29.'

Similarly, a member 30, preferably in the form of a casting, is secured to the lower corner .of the auxiliary door Il as by means of rivets .3| and k32. The member 30 is provided with a substantially wedge shaped projection 33 alined horizontally with the projection 29 on themember 26. Additionally, vthe member 30 is formed with a keeper 34 in which is disposed a locking pin 35. A portion of thekeeper is-.offset outwardly as indicated at 36 for a purpose which will later appear. x

A bracket 31 secured to the door track 25 as by means of rivets 38 is constructed soV as to cooperate with the members 26 and 30 to limit upward movement of the doors in closed position. To this end the bracket 31 is formed with a portion 39 extending above the track 25 and across the meeting edges of the mainand auxiliary doors. The upwardly extending portion 39 of the bracket 31 is provided with inwardly directed converging ledges or shoulders 40 and 4I connected to the portion of the member 31 which is secured to the track by means of a wall 42. The member 31 is formed additionally with a keeper 43, a portion of which is offset outwardly as indicated at 44.

It will be apparent from a consideration of projections 29 and 33 and the1edges 4o and 4r which is substantially less than the normal lift f of the door secured by the lifting mechanism. However, the main and auxiliary' doors may readily be opened upon actuation of the levers of the lift mechanism, this elevation being aided by the clearance above described land by the shape of the projections and the ledges, Upon vdisengagement of the projections 29 and 33' from the ledges 40 and 4l the doors may be fully elevated.

Thepin 35 serves to lock the auxiliary door `and thus prevent accidental disengagement of the projection v33 from the ledge 4I. This is accomplished by the extension of the pin through vthekeeper 3l and intothe keeper 43; Loss of the 1 pin is prevented by means of the rivet 45 the inner end of which is countersunk and the outer end; of which is formed with a full head 45. This head rides in the outwardly extended portions y36 and 4'4 of the keepers 34 and 4-3 and prevents loss of the pin by contact with the shoulder 41 provided by the extended portion 36 of the keeper 34.

While the instant invention has been djescribed iri association with the main and auxiliary doors of a double door construction, it is apparent that it may be utilized with a single door as Well.

It' will be apparent that numerous changes and vmodifications in the details of. the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is int`ended, therefore, that all such modicatio'ns and changes be comprehended within this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto;

I claim:

I. In a railway house car the combinationwith a longitudinally sliding lift door mounted upon the outside of said car of a mem-bercarried by said car having laterally overlappingv relationship vwith said door and a member secured to the lower forward corner of said door, said car member' having an upwardly inclined ledge, said door member having a portion underlying said ledge to limit upward movementl of.1said door.

, 2. In a railway house car the combination with a longitudinally sliding lift door mounted upon the outside of said car 'of a member carried by said car having laterally overlapping relationship clined ledges provided on said member, a memwith said door and a member secured to the lower forward corner of said door, said car member having an upwardly inclined vertical wall and a ledge extending inwardly from said wall, said door member having a projection underlying said ledge to limit upward movement of said door, said projection being adjacent to said wall to Alimit outward movement of said door.

3. In a railway house car the combination with a longitudinally sliding lift door of a member carried by said car in outwardly offset relation to said door and a member secured to the lower forward corner of said door, said car member having a ledge inclined upwardly toward said docu", said` door member having a portion underlying said ledge to limit upward movement of said door.

'4. In a railway house car the combination with a longitudinally sliding lift door of a member carried by said car in ontwardly oiset relation to said door and a member secured to the lower forward corner' of said door, said car member having a ledge inclined upwardly towards said door, said door member having a wedge shaped projection underlying said vledge to limit upward movement of said door.

5. In a railway house car the combination with the main and auxiliary sliding lift doors of a member carried by said car in outwardly oiset relation to said doors, oppositely upwardly inber secured to the lower forward corner of said main door and having a wedged shaped projection underlying one of said ledges and a'member secured to the lower forward corner of said auxiliary door having a Wedge shaped projection -underlying the other of said ledges, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a railway house car, in combination, a sliding lift door mounted upon the outside of said car, a track supporting said door, a member secured to said track and overlapping the lower corner of said door laterally, said member having -an.upwardly inclined ledge,and a member. se-

cured tov said corner of the door having a pro- ;jecting portion lying below said ledge to limit upward movement of said door.

7. In a railway house car, incombination,

mainand auxiliary sliding lift doors mounted upon the outside of said car, a track supporting said doors, a member secured to said track and overlapping the lower corners of said doors laterally, said member having oppositely extending upwardly inclined ledges and members secured to said lower corners of said doors having projecting portions lying below said ledges to klimit upward movement of said doors, said member secured to said track limiting closing movement. of said doors. i

` LEO C. VOSS. 

